Treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a chronic inflammatory disease, involves the long-term use of immunosuppressive agents with significant side effects. New therapeutic approaches are being explored to find better treatment possibilities. In this study, age-matched female MRL/lpr mice were treated orally with a natural flavonoid astilbin. Astilbin administration started either at week 8 or week 12 of age though week 20. In the early treatment regimen, the treatment with astilbin reduced splenomegaly/lymphomegaly, autoantibody production and ameliorated lupus nephritis...

A study was made of the effect of vegetable fats on lipid metabolism and free radical oxidation, phospholipase activity and antioxidant content in 43 children suffering from chronic glomerulonephritis. After intake of a vegetative fat in a dose of 2 g/kg bw for 7 days the sick children demonstrated a significant rise in the level of total lipids in red cells and in their excretion with urine. This was in a good agreement with an increase in phospholipase activity in blood and diminution of lipid peroxides in red cell membranes...

Anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) antibodies were induced in the Brown-Norway rat by mercuric chloride. The existence of anti-GBM antibodies was suspected because of the immunofluorescent linear pattern. It was proved because eluted antibodies from kidneys and circulating IgG had an anti-glomerular basement membrane activity. A glomerular basement membrane antigen modified by HgCl2 is probably responsible for the appearance of such antibodies. The previous demonstration of the occurrence of an immun complex type glomerulonephitis, in outbred Wistar rats, under the same experimental conditions, suggests the existence of a genetic control for this type of immune response...